Evening news round-up for the Black Country and north Worcestershire

The jury has retired in the trial of Dudley teenager Kobe Murray who is accused of murdering footballer Ryan Passey in Chicago's in Stourbridge.

High Court judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Goose, summarised the case this morning (Monday) for the ten-man two-woman jury at Birmingham Crown Court following a seven-day trial.

Murray, of The Broadway, Dudley, has denied murdering 24-year-old Mr Passey, of Quarry Bank, who suffered a fatal stab wound to the chest in the crowded town centre bar in the early hours of August 6 last year.

But the prosecution has said the statement Murray initially gave to police after his arrest was "misleading" and that he obviously intended to cause really serious harm with a flick knife that he was holding as a scuffle broke out in the bar.

To read more click here.

Black Country comedy stars The Fizzogs have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help get them to Hollywood.

Deb Nicholls, Sue Hawkins and Jacky Fellows - best known for their Dancing Grannies routine which made them viral internet stars - have been working with award-winning writer and director Benjamin Field to develop a feature film script.

The project has already gained attention from a number of high profile film producers and distributors.

But to get the film properly funded they need to first make a teaser tape show to producers and investors so they are appealing to fans to dig deep and make a donation, large or small, to help to get the project off the ground.

To read more click here.

A convicted killer is facing another long spell behind bars after he tried to stab his sister-in-law to death in Lye.

Gheorghe Mihai, aged 38, chased after the woman while armed with a large kitchen knife and he stabbed her five times after she refused to give him money for alcohol.

Judge Amjad Nawaz at Wolverhampton Crown Court told Mihai, originally from from Romania where he was previously jailed for beating a man to death with a piece of wood, that a “very lengthy prison sentence” awaited him after a jury convicted him of attempted murder and possessing an offensive weapon.

To read the full court report click here.

Campaigners fighting to save Dudley’s Hippodrome have accused council bosses of making "a mockery of democracy".

Black Country Hippodrome Ltd are working on plans to restore the dilapidated ex-theatre and bring it back to its former glory but that dream could soon be over as Dudley Council is looking to take back the keys to the landmark building.

The council has said the group has failed to achieve key milestones within a set time frame, which were mutually agreed when BCHL was given a five-year lease for the building in December 2016.

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Devastated colleagues of a Kidderminster ambulance technician who died in a car crash battled in vain to save his life.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) emergency medical technician Gavin Hunt and his wife were involved in a road traffic collision near Kidderminster on Friday (February 2) at around 7.30pm.

Despite the best efforts of WMAS staff, he died at the scene. His wife was taken to hospital where she remains in a stable condition and she is being supported by the ambulance bosses.

To read more click here.

A surgeon who lied about his experience during an interview to secure a job at Redditch's Alexandra Hospital, has been jailed for six years.

Sudip Sarker stood motionless as Judge Robert Juckes QC passed the sentence after an hour long hearing at Worcester Crown Court on Monday.

The 48-year-old had denied making a false representation to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust so he could secure the £80,000 a year job at the Alex Hospital.

But on Friday a jury found him guilty, agreeing with the prosecution's case that Sarker exaggerated his experience in laparoscopic surgical procedures in his interview.

To read more click here.